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Planners want land use ordinance

By Jim Kalvelage

Posted:
04/10/2013 03:42:05 PM MDT

The Lincoln County Commission will be asked to consider the creation of a land development ordinance to address their concerns over the threat of wildfire. The Lincoln County Planning Commission came away from last week's planning meeting with the feeling that addressing tree thinning and defensible space around structures would be largely ineffective as an amendment to the current subdivision ordinance.

In offering a motion that was approved by the planners, Planning Commissioner Mary Dokianos said the county board's desire for fire mitigation on properties would be best addressed in a new ordinance that would encompass not only new subdivisions but also existing properties when the owner is ready to build.

"Their overall thing is how do we prevent what happened with the Little Bear Fire," Dokianos said of the county's desire to address properties that could contribute to a wildfire's grow. She said county commissioners need to go beyond their request for the Planning Commission to look only at the subdivision ordinance to achieve the goal.

The subdivision ordinance regulates developers who split tracks into lots and not with the later development after lots are sold.

A new ordinance

Commissioner Tom Mann agreed, a separate ordinance would be necessary in an effort to maintain properly thinned lots.

"We talked about making the developer do it.

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I can hear the comment now, well that guy cut down the one tree he should have left on the property because the developer doesn't know where the house is going," Mann said.

Commissioner Dennis Rich concurred with the idea of ongoing defensible space requirements as part of an envisioned land development ordinance.

"If you did it as part of the land development ordinance, that would catch anything existing," Rich said. "Say for instanced somebody had a lot in Sonterra. When they go to get a building permit they'd have to show that they've taken care of their lot."

Lincoln County Attorney Alan Morel noted the county board has twice turned down a wildland-urban interface (WUI) or defensible space ordinance. Commissioner Nora Midkiff questioned Morel about the two rejections.

"I think it's the burden it places on the homeowner, that it is another regulatory requirement," Morel responded. "I think everybody was supportive of the idea but actually opposing the cost. Doing the thinning on an individual homeowner was more than the commission was willing to do."

Morel also said the cost for homeowners with large tracts would be huge.

"Why are they asking us to bring forth a recommendation again that more than likely they're going to reject?" Dokianos quipped.

Morel said he didn't believe the county board would reject tree thinning requirements on developers.

"They support the thinning of the forest. They just don't support the cost associated with doing it. But put on the developer, I think they would support that."

Rich warned that putting the burden at the subdividing phase would be costly for developers.

"There's not going to be very many happening if any at all. So you're still going to have these large tracts out there that aren't having anything done to them," he said of tree thinning and development.

"I think it should be the developer for certain basal area (the ratio of trees to a property) trimming," Dokianos said of language to add to the subdivision ordinance. "And then you have to go in and when a lot is bought, and this would come under a land development ordinance, have some sort of regulation that that's required.

"It's fine and dandy to have something where people or the developer will clear a property in a certain way. But then what comes next? A person goes out there and they build their home. Then, how do we keep them continuing to maintain this defensible property."

Defensible space necessary

"I think every homeowner ought to be very aware of what just minimal efforts of defensible space would do for you," Mann said.

Dokianos said also requiring developers to thin their new subdivisions would, at least for a while, be an effort to minimize the impact of a fire while the lots remain unsold.

"I'd be more encouraged toward some sort of a regulation because of where we live out there," Planner Nora Midkiff said of the long existing subdivisions in Lower Eagle Creek Canyon. "Some of these second homeowners that either aren't aware or just aren't there, their properties are completely wild. For my safety, I don't think we'll ever reach out to them to participate in fire safety in our community without some regulation."

But Morel said he was unsure of the county board adopting another ordinance to regulate defensible space after a developer has already trimmed the property.

Mann questioned what is achieved in the name of fire mitigation if the treated property is not maintained.

"If we're really trying to protect things, we haven't done anything looking at the whole picture," Mann said. "And we won't do anything by cleaning up 20 acres here or 60 acres here based on the amount of fuels we have in the county."

Rich wondered about the impact to bigger properties.

"I don't agree that we're going to tell somebody that has a 20 acre tract that you have to go out there and thin you're whole tract," Rich said. "I'm more of the idea that you tell us where you're house is going to be and tell us how big a house you're going to have and so forth, then we'll start with a defensible space area."

Rich said however that someone building on 20 acres probably has money and could afford additional tree thinning.

"What I'm hearing is that we would send a letter to the (Lincoln County) Commission and tell them that we feel that a thinning ordinance for subdivisions is impractical," Midkiff said. "But we feel the issue's important and that it should be addressed in a land use ordinance."

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